From two days ago, here is Trump’s response to a question from the press on whether Ukraine is an equal member in the peace process. (20 seconds)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HLpklgSyrNk
For some odd reason I am reminded of the 1938 Munich Agreement effectively ceding Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany.
A wonderful winter day and snow outside, but complete madness in politics and international relations.
Trump said on Thursday, February, 13 that he expected russian officials to also be at the conference in Munich and suggested they could meet with US and Ukrainian officials - but a senior Ukrainian official said talks with russia were not expected.
"russia is going to be there with our people," the US president said in comments made to the reporters."Ukraine is also invited, by the way, not sure exactly who's going to be there from any country - but high-level people from russia, from Ukraine and from the United States."
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy5k6gk50qvoUS Vice-President JD Vance has launched a scalding attack on European democracies, saying the greatest threat facing the continent was not from russia and China, but "from within".
It had been expected that Vance would use his speech at the Munich Security Conference to address possible talks to end the war in Ukraine. Instead, he spent the majority accusing European governments - including the UK's - of retreating from their values, and ignoring voter concerns on migration and free speech. The address was met by silence in the hall, and later denounced by several politicians at the conference. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said it was "not acceptable". Vance repeated the Trump administration's line that Europe must "step up in a big way to provide for its own defence".
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ceve3wl21x1oUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke at a press conference as part of the Munich Security Conference and during his speech at the conference about relations with the new US administration and options for a peaceful resolution of the war. In his speech, Zelensky stressed the need for Europe to participate in peace negotiations and said that a peace treaty cannot be signed in Munich.
"We all remember what was signed here," Zelensky said, referring to the 1938 agreement that allowed Germany to annex the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. "I don't see that the US has a ready-made plan to end the war," he said.
https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/c0jn0yw3xlyoUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he would not give up on Ukraine's potential membership in NATO. He also believes that the European Union should create its own army, and not rely on US assistance. Regarding the agreement on the extraction of Ukrainian rare earth metals, which the US insists on, Zelensky said that "talks are still ongoing."
Zelensky also said that it was "inappropriate" to hold elections in Ukraine in the near future. Earlier, US President's special representative Keith Kellogg said that, according to the White House, parliamentary and presidential elections should be held in Ukraine by the end of this year.
"I am ready to talk about elections. Ukrainians do not want this. They do not want this at all, because they are afraid, because otherwise we will lose martial law, the soldiers will return home and pooteen will seize all our territory. This will happen. Because now we are mobilized, now we are one organism, one country," Zelensky said.
According to the president, the elections will disrupt the unity of Ukrainians. "We need unity within the country. This is not about me, this is about the future of our country, this is about today. The question is how to survive, how to save Ukraine, our independence, our people, our home. If someone doesn't like it, they can choose another citizenship if they want."
https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/c74m2nl9jn4oUkrainians reacted to the latest statement with numerous memes and jokes, reminding that choosing another citizenship is impossible because the president has not satisfied a single application for renunciation of Ukrainian citizenship in the past few years. In addition, it is impossible to leave Ukraine legally, and buying an illegal opportunity to leave Ukraine already costs about 20,000 US dollars.
Vladimir pooteen is assembling a heavyweight team with decades of experience in high-stakes negotiations to face off against US President Donald Trump’s representatives for a deal to end russia’s war in Ukraine.
They include Yuri Ushakov, his chief Kremlin foreign-policy adviser who has more than half a century of involvement in diplomacy, and his top spymaster, Sergei Naryshkin, who served with pooteen in the Soviet KGB, according to people familiar with situation, who asked not to be identified discussing internal information.
That pooteen is opting to rely mostly on highly skilled and experienced negotiators to represent russia in any talks is hardly a surprise. The personnel choices underscore just how determined the russian leader is to secure a favorable outcome in any negotiations and potentially how little his demands in relation to Ukraine have changed in the three years since he ordered the full-scale invasion.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-14/putin-assembles-team-of-heavyweights-to-negotiate-ukraine-dealUkrainian authorities said that on the night of February 14, russia attacked the shelter of the destroyed power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant with a drone. "The shelter at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was damaged by this drone. The fire was extinguished. At the moment, the radiation background has not increased, and this is constantly monitored. According to initial estimates, the damage to the shelter is significant," the president wrote on social media.
https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/c1kmdrn2kyloJudging by the photos and videos from surveillance cameras, the drone was small and only damaged the outer covering of the hangar that was built over the destroyed reactor, but it was a great news item. Considering that it happened right during the conference in Munich, I don’t even know who did it and for what purpose.
